Bruce Banner in a Plastic Crown
by EmiEllie
Summary: Missing moment from episode 2x20 ('Prom Queen'). After being kicked out of prom Finn and Jesse wait for their dates. Finchel-centric one-shot.


Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.

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Finn and Jesse were sitting two feet away from one another on the pavement outside McKinley High, after having been escorted off campus by Coach Sylvester. Finn had planned to get in his truck and drive straight home - Prom was nearly over anyway and he was certain that Quinn wouldn't want to speak to him again tonight - but he'd changed his mind when Jesse sighed impatiently and sat down on the ground.

"What are you doing?" Finn had asked, surprised that Jesse would allow his ass to touch a public bench - much less the floor - in his ridiculous designer suit.

"Erm... waiting for my _date_." Finn hadn't missed the smugness he'd infused into the final word. But he didn't want Jesse to see Rachel or Quinn before he had the chance to speak to them, so he'd reluctantly joined him on the sidewalk.

They'd been sat there for over forty minutes and had barely spoken two words to one another. Students had started filtering out of the front gates at ten o'clock - most of them had left by now - but Rachel and Quinn had still yet to be seen. Finn was staring at the second hand of his watch as it ticked sluggishly round when the two boys heard the clicking of heels. Synchronously, they whipped their heads round to see Rachel with her arm looped through Sam's; Mercedes on his other side. The three of them were laughing hysterically at something as they wandered without a care in the world through the gates. But the laughter slowly petered into silence as Finn and Jesse stood up in front of them, so that three pairs of eyes were looking directly at them.

"Hi," Jesse breathed, the slightest hint of nervousness evident in his voice. Finn just stared awkwardly at his feet, trying to avoid Rachel's icy glare. Mercedes and Sam looked from Finn, to Jesse, to Rachel, the sense of uneasiness between them palpable.

Rachel turned to smile at them for a moment and said, "why don't you two start walking? I'll catch up with you in a minute." Both looked grateful for the suggestion and Sam mouthed _'thank you'_ before they walked about twenty meters down the road, where they stopped to wait for Rachel.

The atmosphere was no less tense with Mercedes and Sam gone; if anything it was worse. The silence seem to stretch on for minutes, though in reality it was probably only a matter of seconds before Jesse spoke up.

"Do you want to get out of here then?" He asked Rachel, in an attempt to sweep the tension under the rug. But Rachel's eyes were fixated on the top of Finn's bowed head. He still wouldn't look up at her, scared that he might turn to stone if their eyes met.

"Actually, I'm going to go with Sam and Mercedes, if you don't mind?" She answered, finally turning to look at Jesse and flashing him the barest hint of a smile.

"Of course not," he smiled back. "Would you like me to walk with you?"

"No, that's okay. You should go home." It made Finn feel oddly self-satisfied to realise that Rachel didn't _want _Jesse there and was trying - with all the subtlety of a sledge hammer - to dismiss him. "I'll call you tomorrow," she added, making it unmistakably clear that she expected him to leave.

Jesse leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, her lips curling into a tight smile as his grazed the side of her face, before leaving.

Finn could hear Rachel breathing heavily through her nose as the otherwise peaceful nighttime engulfed them. Since Rachel had started singing lessons at a very young age, she knew all of the best breathing techniques. _Inhale quickly through the nose, and exhale slowly through the mouth. _She would frequently repeat this mantra to everyone in Glee rehearsals. So Finn knew that this new erratic and laboured breathing pattern could only mean one thing: she was angry.

"Rachel?" Finn tried tentatively, as he finally looked up at her piercing eyes. She wasn't moving, or even blinking. Her nostrils were flaring and her chest was heaving above her strapless gown with every exasperated breath she took. "I-"

"What the hell was that, Finn?" Rachel blurted out, before he had chance to string a sentence together. He was sort of relieved that she's interrupted him because he hadn't a clue what he was going to say to her next.

"I asked you on Wednesday to show some respect for my feelings by giving Jesse another chance. I even helped you with your corsage dilemma, hoping that you'd show me the courtesy of not rubbing your relationship in my face or ruining my Junior Prom by being an ass to Jesse." She paused for a moment to catch her breath and Finn used the opportunity to try and interject, but she waggled her finger and continued, "I'm not finished... You turn up at Breadstix, telling us all to _vote for 'Hudson-Fabray' _and making uncomfortable jokes about the egging incident. You spend the whole night _dancing with your girlfriend_ - which you have every right to do -" she adds, looking at him pointedly, "- but as soon as I hit the dance floor, you go all Bruce Banner on us."

Having completed her speech, she huffed out a huge breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding, and continued to stare at Finn, tapping her foot and waiting for him to say something in response.

"I'm sorry," he murmured so quietly, the apology almost got lost in the nighttime breeze. "I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable and ruining your night." Finn paused for a moment, wondering whether he should continue his thought or not. "But I'm not going to apologise for punching Jesse in the face."

Rachel's jaw dropped minutely, but she didn't say anything. "I'm sorry Rachel, but he had it coming to him."

"Why?" she shouted at him, unable to control the onslaught of hurt and humiliation that washed over her. "Because Jesse actually likes me? Because your ego can't stand the possibility that I might not spend the entirety of my summer and senior year fawning over you?"

The tears were welling up in her eyes now and threatening to spill over. Crying was her visceral reaction to both anger and embarrassment, but she refused to let him see her cry. He didn't deserve to have that kind of power over her.

"No," Finn suddenly yelled back at her, just as heatedly. "Because he doesn't deserve you."

If she hadn't been so furious with him, Rachel might have found his candour sweet. "You don't get to tell me that, Finn Hudson." Her voice broke as she said his name. Rachel only ever used his full name when she was angry with him, or if she was telling him that she loved him. She took a tremulous step towards him so that they were close enough for her to feel his breath on her face. Looking into his eyes, she whispered, "you don't get to come crashing into my life, fists flying, whenever you think someone might not _deserve _me."_  
_

"I just don't want to see you get hurt. You're just so..." he trailed off self-consciously. He wasn't used to talking about his feelings, so he took her dainty hand and lying it palm up in one of his, tracing the index finger of his free hand over her palm lines, whilst he figured out how to best express himself.

Both of them were looking down at their joined hands. Despite the fact that they were barely touching, she felt more intimate with him than she ever had before. It felt like all of her vulnerabilities were laid bare on her palm, and he could see all of them. Usually that would make her feel embarrassed and weak but, with Finn, she liked that he could see all of her.

"You're just... so fragile right now, Rachel." That one sentence ruined everything. She snatched her hand away, immediately regretting that she'd let her guard down enough for him to figure it out. The last thing she wanted was for him to _pity _her._  
_

"And who do you think made me like that, Finn?" she asked accusingly. "Because it certainly wasn't Jesse."

Finn swallowed back the lump that was starting to form in his throat. "Rachel..."

She cut him off. "You know, you talk a good game about not wanting to see me get hurt, but you're the one who broke me."

In that moment, the tears she had been saving up to cry into her pillow when she made it home started cascading down her cheeks, leaving smears of black mascara in their tracks. Her bottom lip was quivering, and Finn couldn't figure out whether it was because of the cold spring air, or because she was trying to hold back a fresh round of tears.

Hesitantly, he raised a hand towards her left cheek to wipe away the tears there, but she jerked her head away before he could make contact. "I'm not upset. I'm just angry," she lied, wiping away the wetness with the heels of her hands.

"I didn't mean to," Finn murmured to the side of her face that was still turned to him.

Just then, they were interrupted by Sam calling down the road. "Hey, Berry. You coming? We're going to the 7-Eleven for Slurpees."

Rachel glanced back at Finn for a split second before answering. "On my way."

As she tried to walk away, Finn grabbed her wrist to pull her back. "Wait," he pleaded with her.

"You should go find your girlfriend," she said impassively. "I'll see you in Glee club."

After that, Finn watched her walk away - arm in arm with Mercedes and Sam - until he could no longer see them through the darkness. For the first time since they'd broken up, he didn't know whether it would be possible to repair all the damage that had been done.

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A/N: so, this was kinda angsty. And I am aware that it maybe seems quite Rachel-biased. It isn't because I hate Finn or anything. I actually love Finn just as much as I love Rachel, but Finn was a little bit outta line in this episode IMHO and it would have made sense for Rachel (or Quinn, for that matter) to call him out. But, oh well, I loves me some jealous Finn. I hope you like it anyway.

'Prom Queen' is actually one of my favourite episodes because a) it's hilarious for the first half and angsty/emotional for the second (perfect combo), b) somehow Glee managed to make 'Friday' by Rebecca Black into a semi-respectable (in the loosest sense) song, and c) Brittany was wearing a prom ensemble that can only be described as spectacular (complete with miniature top hat).

Reviews are love love love.


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